AUSTIN, GEORGIA -- All the money was stolen from my card $890.00 on 05-12-20012. 2 days before this happened my account was blocked so I called customers service and was told that somebody has been calling in on my account, and they asked if it was me and I said "no" and that the person was 1 digit off and so that's why they blocked my account - OK, good. Then I was told that I had to send over documents to the fraud department. I asked to speak to the fraud department. Then I was told that I could not speak to the fraud department because the fraud department does not speak to customers directly, I could only fax them or email them.

I emailed them the documents that they had requested and then they unblocked my account. OK the next morning ** transferred $890.00 from my account to their account. I received a text telling me this so I immediately called NetSpend to let them know that I didn't do this transaction and I need the money put back into my account. Well ** had made a transaction of $705.23 and they put $184.77 back on my account. Now I had to go to the claims department to dispute the transaction so that I could get my money back.

Now here is where the problems come in. Why was it that when my account was blocked the first time and I called in and asked to speak to the fraud department I was told that they do not speak to customers directly I could only email or fax them, but now that my money is stolen I can speak with the fraud department?

The fraud department then ordered me a new card, changed my pin number, and my security question. Now that my money is stolen and I have to wait 2 weeks 10 business days, it's OK to speak with the fraud department? When I finally did speak with the fraud department I asked them this same question.

Then I was told it is up to the customer service person to determine if they will transfer you to the fraud department or not. That is crazy and a policy that needs to be changed immediately because if I was allowed to speak with the fraud department when this first happened and they blocked the account, I would have changed the information then and they would not have been able to steal the money. My account being blocked and I had to send forms to the fraud department should have been enough cause for me to speak with the fraud department then also and this nightmare would not have happened.

Your foreign customer service is the worst I have ever experienced - very hard to understand English, rude will only answer question that they want to ask not the questions that you asked them. I have been a NetSpend customer for many years and have quite of my friends that use NetSpend because I told them about it, and this is the worst experience I have ever had with any company. I hope you will straighten this matter very soon and I hope to hear from you soon and get this matter resolved.

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NetSpend Works for Me

By Hollywood.Tattoos - 04/24/2010

I have had NetSpend for a few months now. With the economy I do not trust banks, so I was refuse to take my checks to a bank. I have been ripped off not once, but twice by a huge banking corporation and honestly was a bit standoffish about using NetSpend. Being a tattoo artist, I was making too much money to carry around in my wallet and after having my house robbed about a year ago, I don't trust leaving anything too valuable in my home.

I was talking to one of the artists I work with about giving him some money to put on his card so that I could order this really nice tattoo machine online. He pulled out his wallet and showed me his NetSpend card and said "Why don't you go buy one of these from HEB? They are like $5 and it's free to put your money on them. I've had mine for about 2 years and have never once had a problem."

So during my break I went to go buy one and was actually disappointed at first when I found out that any transaction would cost me money, but then I was offered one of the spending plans that is only a little over $7 a month (which honestly is not that big of a deal). They have to make money to stay in business. I was more happy with that plan.

I then created my account and found out all of the great things that a lot of other banks never offered me. Like you have the option of receiving a text message every time there is money spent on your card. I thought it would get annoying but it's actually reassuring. It literally tells you what time, where, and how much was spent. So if you are actually able to track your card down if you really wanted to. The texts come in immediately after you swipe the card. Also you are given an option of free direct deposit, which most banks charge you a fee for.

The company also gives you an option of free bank transfer, which is awesome because if you have a bank and you have money there, but you want to use your NetSpend card, there you go. Honestly the main problem with the bank I was going with was that my card would get stolen, and I'd be in debt even though I reported it stolen the moment it got stolen. They would still allow my account to be open. NetSpend deletes the card as soon as you call them.

Also I love that you can't possibly get any overages. That saves me a lot of money. Sure I don't have extra money that isn't mine to spend if I need it, but I don't get into debt. There are a lot of great things about NetSpend that I haven't mentioned, but you get the point. I feel safe with NetSpend mainly because of the texting option. I don't think I will go with another bank as long as NetSpend is around.

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- My name is **. I work for the Federal Trade Commission and the goal of my company is to take class action against companies whom we deem as fraudulent or who seem to misrepresent themselves or who are crafty with their deceptive business practices in scamming consumers unknowingly. However, multiple consumers must call and make claims as we do not act on individual complaints, we rather look for trends and patterns in law violations and report them to our investigators and detectives who then take action against the company in question.

I have reviewed all the complaints on this website and they are all about the same issue regarding NetSpend. I defended this company on numerous occasions when filing complaints for consumers across the country telling them that it is the merchants fault when in actuality it is NetSpend's wrong doings. I have recently found this out the hard way.

I am sorry for everyone who sees this that has at least attempted to contact the FTC in regards to your debit cards being wiped clean for no apparent reason or having your funds disappear in a matter of hours. For example I checked my account at 9:30 in the morning and by lunch which is at 2:00 Pm Eastern Time my $100 + dollars had been taken off. They said that I had used it at a gas station for 5 Dollars and an ATM withdrawal for $80. If I'm not mistaken 80 + 5 = $85, so where the hell are my remaining funds.

Also I have attempted to provide them with Timecard records for the day in question to show that I did not make those transactions and they denied them. NetSpend corporation has repeatedly made unauthorized transactions that I did not approve or in some cases did not even have the funds available for.

Upon calling the institution in which they inform you that they will transfer you to their supervisor only to place you on hold for a lengthy amount of time and come back on the line only to try to deceive you with a different dialect than the previous agent. (The same person who said he would transfer you to a supervisor is the same agent even after he states that he is the supervisor.) I have caught several agents trying to dupe me into thinking I'm speaking with a higher authority and I am not. They had little to say after they were caught.

Although my disputes only amount to about 200-250 dollars, the times that they have made these unauthorized transactions came costly as I was taken to court for bills that were not paid due to their negligence. I have read some claims on here where people have lost hundreds or in some cases thousands of dollars.

I urge everyone to contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-438-4338 and report this company so we can take action against them. The purported purpose of class action lawsuits is to give the common man the ability to take on the largest corporate or private entities (who can afford the very best legal services) and have a chance of redressing the wrong done by these entities. It is important to remember that even though the actual damage or cost to the individual class member may be small, the illicit gain to the corporate entity can be huge if done to hundreds or even hundreds of thousands of class members.

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Unsolicited Letter Sent in the Mail

By hydedesiree862 - 07/25/2015

Rating: 1/51

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Today I received a unsolicited letter with a prepaid MasterCard and I do not have an account with them nor did I reply for this card also the letter doesn't say that I requested it whatsoever. Something is very fishy about this as I believe that is a scam and will not fall for it.

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NetSpend Deceptive and Fraudulent Practices

By marshallsmagic196 - 11/11/2014

Rating: 1/51

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Good morning! My name is ** and I am a Connecticut native residing in Huntsville Alabama. I hope my email reaches the recipient and their interests in the riches of good health and happiness. My reason for this correspondence is to make an attempt to alert consumers during the holiday season about a company that does not stand by their product and has internal issues as it relates to security and safety of your personal funds and or money. I have become a victim and want to empower others before they get duped like my wife and I have.

On October 27th and 28th I purchased two prepaid NetSpend load packs from Walgreens in Huntsville Alabama. What my wife and I did not know prior to paying 307.80 for both cards was the fact that we had to request a debit card from NetSpend to load the funds on to. Once I paid the 307.80 I had to wait a few days for the debit card to arrive to my place of residence. I received the NetSpend debit card on Thursday October 30th, 2014 and proceeded to call the NetSpend number listed to load the 300.00 onto my debit card. The 7.80 were fees for the purchase of both cards.

What would happen next would truly and literally blind side my wife and I. Both cards were already loaded onto another NetSpend account without our authorization. NetSpend has chose to implicate the customer in having to do something with the theft of these cards. What I have gathered from this incident is whoever has stole this money has to be an internal employee of NetSpend. An employee within the Mid Level or higher management team who can oversee any and all inquiries of issues of this magnitude and nature.

I have spoke to an employee of NetSpend named **. Mr. has informed me my money has been loaded onto another NetSpend account and there is nothing he can do concerning this theft of my funds. I was informed to contact the Huntsville Police Department concerning theft of funds with an online banking company. The person who can steal this funds would have the capacity to control all avenues and areas of the investigation process without being considered a suspect in the theft of funds of their customers.

I have filed several complaints and have contacted businesses who partner with NetSpend to inform them of what has happened to my money and the stand the company has not chose to take. I have emailed several departments within the NetSpend umbrella and one employee continues to be the only person I can speak to and make contact with. Mr. has more or less informed me my money has been stolen and has been applied to another account within the NetSpend accounts.

My question was why can't you suspend the account the money was loaded on and proceed to inquire to the person owning the account how did he come into possession of another customer's money and or funds. When one person is privy to all avenues of the investigation process of funds stolen one would have to make an informed decision to believe the person stealing the money can very well be the same person managing all avenues of the investigation process. I was told no matter who I contact within NetSpend all communications will be reviewed on his desk.

I am urging all who will listen to inform consumers of this practice before they experience what my wife and I have experienced. My wife and I were traveling to Connecticut to see our oldest son and spend time with family. This has been very stressful on my beautiful wife and I. We do not have 300.00 just to blow in the wind.

I am saddened the company would take the standpoint and implicate me. Please ensure all of your consumers are aware of this companies practices. There is no constructive way for this money to have been stolen other than a NetSpend internal mechanism having the ability to cipher the funds without the customer's authorization and or approval.

NetSpend is a subsidiary of TSYS of Columbus Georgia. I have contacted the offices of Mr. ** and his subordinates concerning this very deceptive scheme taking place within the scope of his NetSpend Company. I have filed a complaint with FBI Internet Crimes Complaint Center, The Texas Watch Consumer Outlet, The Texas and Alabama Attorney General and still working on other avenues to uncover this very deliberate and organized scheme against consumers of NetSpend and or their business partners.

Thank you for any and all consideration to inform customers prior to purchasing this pre-paid load pack. Please do not allow your consumers to experience what I have been dealing with since the 30th of October. I cannot sleep, eat or think straight knowing somebody can simply take your money and there is no cause and or action you can take to recover your funds.

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NetSpend Defrauded Customer

By Anthony - 01/16/2014

Rating: 1/51

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- I had paid my wife's insurance premium using my NetSpend card. My wife had an accident and totaled the vehicle. We canceled our insurance policy and they refunded our policy payments retroactively to the date of the accident. The insurance company sent 2 refunds to the card they had on record (NetSpend). One on Thursday and another on Friday. A day later my account was frozen without notice or explanation.

When I called customer service (and I use that title very loosely because they're third world country customer service representatives are barely understandable) they told me that my account was frozen due to fraud activity. Insinuating that I had committed some type of fraud. They also told me that I can have my insurance company take the money back and send me a check. This would release my other funds I have available on the card.

So, I called my insurance company and they told me there is no way to cancel a refund once it has gone through and accepted. They also told me that the card company can reverse the transaction on their end. But NetSpend reps claimed they are not able to do that, which is a blatant lie. I have a merchant account and I know first hand that transactions can be reversed by the bank or the merchant.

The representative asked that I send them proof of the transaction. I immediately complied and sent them documentation from the insurance company. This was on Saturday afternoon. They told me once they receive the documents it may take up to 8 hours to unfreeze my account and release my money. I printed out the documentation from my insurance company. I faxed the paperwork over to the number they provided me with. I received confirmation that the documents were received. In addition, I also emailed the same documents to the email address they provided me with. All emails were confirmed received.

There was never any response from them that night. I called on Sunday and asked for a supervisor. The phone representative avoided getting a supervisor by stalling and putting me on hold for 15 minutes. They did the same on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I have been placed on hold several times, for upwards of 40 minutes each time. I have document these phone calls for future reference.

The company's customer service tactics are proof that this is a criminal organization who intentionally refuses to help their customers and attempts to defraud them of their money. Unfortunately, I have given up after spending so much time trying to rectify this matter and have gotten nowhere with these people.

I now believe the money has been stolen and I am forced to take legal action against NetSpend and Meta Bank. In addition, I will be filing a criminal complaint with the New York State Attorney General's office as well as the Office of the Comptroller of Currency. After reading about so many customers who have been robbed by this company I have come to the conclusion that the defrauded customers should file a class action lawsuit against these criminals.

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Typical Company Full of Subtle Thieves

By TexasConsumer - 07/10/2011

Certain situations in life pushed me to open a prepaid card with NetSpend, which I immediately regretted due to the ridiculous unnecessary fee charges here and there that most legitimate financial institutions/crooks don't charge. You're looking at 3 dollars to upload money, 5 to 10 dollars monthly fee for allowing you to use your debit card anytime, anywhere (accept for at an ATM), without incurring extra charges, you're again looking at fees for removing more than a certain amount of money from your account each day, meaning if you have to pay rent and need to withdraw a large amount, you better plan ahead and so on and so forth.

After a while I became used to the fees and learned how to make my card work for me. Yes, it's not going to be as convenient as an account with a legitimate bank (no atms, can't withdraw money whenever you want unless you go to another provider's ATM and allow yourself to be subject to their fees, can't transfer money as easily etc), but if you pay attention and stay one step ahead then your NetSpend account can work in your favor (which is way more work than a card is worth). For a while I didn't have any issues... until...

This past month on 06/30/2011, for the first time in two years, I received an overdraft fee. I have text alerts, and was not alerted that my account was in the overdraft zone. I couldn't believe it, so I contacted customer service and explained my stance on the issue, and let the agent know that I do not regularly have this problem, so I should receive a convenience refund. Yes, I do feel that I am entitled to receiving my fee back. Well, this agent immediately started with the "I'm sorry Ms. **, but we cannot refund the fee as we can prove the text was sent".

I was infuriated because instead of understanding my stance, this little mind warped customer service agent was treating me like I was trying to rob the company, when in fact the company had robbed me. I explained to her that I have not received an overdraft fee charge to date, and have been a loyal customer, so I should be refunded this charge, which again led the agent to apologize and say I shouldn't receive the refund. I asked for a supervisor, and guess what folks, I was on the line waiting for 40 minutes before one came on. I think their game is to drag you out and frustrate you into submission.

Once a supervisor came on, I again explained my issue and said I was not notified. See, my logic isn't that I should receive a refund because I was not notified. My logic is, and I explained this, that I have been paying ridiculous, absurd fees to this parody of a legitimate company for about 2 years, and have not complained once, and now that I am requested the service be returned to me as a loyal customer, these people, whose paychecks my fees pay, are holding onto my money and making it theirs without a second thought.

The supervisor said she would place me on hold and contact some other department to check if I could get the refund... about 20 minutes later she came back and said "Ms. **, I apologize but we have decided not to give you the refund because we feel too many customers call and take advantage of our policies by asking for refunds." OH, I am SO glad we were not face to face, I would have given her the look to end all looks. I couldn't believe the hypocrisy in her statement. I reminded her that she worked for the company and did not own it, and that in all actuality the company robs its customers.

Wow, I felt like I was being crushed by some weird totalitarian company that just didn't care. The nerve of her response, wow. I said, yet again, that I had been loyal to the company and could not believe the way they were treating this issue. Of course, the company's defense was their terms and conditions... how convenient. While still trying to reason with this woman, she abruptly interrupted me and said she was sending me to another supervisor. So I waited AGAIN for 30 minutes for this new supervisor.

So, let me wrap this up by saying nothing happened in my favor. Also, they misinformed me about how the overdraft fees work. Before my check came in, a company went into my account and took a 17 dollar payment. My check went in two hours later, and NetSpend also refused to credit me that overdraft fee, which is complete and absolute robbery. They said this was because I never paid the other overdraft fee (the one this story is about), so they charged me another overdraft fee despite the fact that my check came in two hours later, which meets their "less than 24 hours" guidelines.

This company may seem all la-di-da because they give you a 10 dollar leeway when your funds run out, and because their overdraft fees are only 15 bucks, but really, they compensate by charging millions of customers ridiculous and unnecessary fees here and there, and refuse credits left and right.

So, basically they did not honor me as a customer, despite all the ** fees I have paid in the past, they did not make me feel appreciated, they robbed me again by misinforming me and charging me another overdraft fee, even though the charge was covered less than 2 hours later, they kept me on hold for a total of an hour and a half, and discouraged me completely. How is that for customer service? Overdraft fees are not this black and white problem. I am a human being who is giving my money, time and energy to this card. I use it everyday and put my trust in it, how dare they treat me the way they did. It makes me sick.

This simply isn't a good company, hence the outsourcing and the miscellaneous fees all over the place. No bank is a saint, but there are banks out there that will not charge overdraft fees, and will prevent their customers from being debited while their accounts are vulnerable. Use Google to locate banks without overdraft fees. Unfortunately for me, until I find something new that doesn't mind my credit I am stuck with this creepy company. I will keep my eye on my account so I can avoid ever having to communicate with customer service again.

This company keeps a thick wall between the customer and it's true financial implications, meaning you as the customer is on one end, and their true priorities are on the other. This company is capable of functioning as your bank, but it is by no means trustworthy. I can't imagine what you people with unauthorized transactions go through. Bless your hearts.

Company Response 07/18/2011:

Dear CardHolder,

We truly apologize for the problems you have experienced with our customer service and overdraft program.

This level of service will not be tolerated and we would like the opportunity to address the representatives that you have spoken with. Rest assured that we are going to do our best to come up with a good resolution to better assist you and all our valued cardholders.

Our overdraft service is a program that needs to be opted-in to before it is active. During the time of enrollment, you must agree to the terms and conditions which states when the overdraft fees will be charged.

We do appreciate your loyalty and we would like to assist you with your concern. Please send us an email at feedback@netspend.com and we will get back with you.

If there is anything else we can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us via email or call customer service at 1-86-NetSpend (1-866-387-7363).

Thank for you for choosing NetSpend.

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Don't Trust NetSpend With Large Funds of Cash Deposits or SSI/SSDI, Nor Pay Checks or Any Other Check

By KCal - 03/30/2010

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- I don't believe it is safe for anyone to use NetSpend for any of their direct deposits such as employer paychecks, SSI/SSDI, state or government disability checks, or retirement checks; nor do I believe it is safe to deposit large sums of cash to be used for purchases with the use of a NetSpend card, as you may not have money credited back into your account for up to 3-4 months once you have reported a theft or unauthorized transaction(s) from your account to NetSpend.

I also do not believe that NetSpend operates like other large credit card carriers or banking institutions, such as providers like Wells Fargo, which immediately replaces stolen funds back into your account while they investigate a theft or fraud that has occurred with your account. NetSpend leaves you hanging with no monies left in your account at all while they do their own investigation, and then pass it off to another company like Visa who can then take up to 30-90 days after NetSpend has strung you along.

Mortgage companies, landlords, car payment companies, and utility companies don't care about your personal lose of funds, and apparently neither does NetSpend. NetSpend also doesn't care if you are unable to feed yourself, as once your funds are stolen you have to wait for up to possibly 4 months before funds may ever be returned to your account. You could end up on the street and/or without a car and food before the matter is resolved.

You as a NetSpend customer will not receive funds that have been stolen from your account for a very long time, period. Consumer Beware. Especially, in these hard economic times where people have lost their credit cards and are now relying on companies like NetSpend to fill the void.

We all seem to lull ourselves into a false sense of security where large credit card companies are concerned, and believe me when I tell you that companies like NetSpend will NOT do the right thing while your life is turned upside down. This may be because the company doesn't have to follow the same rules that major credit card carriers have to, but the then again NetSpend preys on persons who may not be able to get a bank account for one reason or another, and I believe that they have a niche market with disabled, and low income persons.

Yes, I think NetSpend targets (preys on) the customer most in need of credit card services and/or check cashing services, but they fail to tell the customer (except perhaps in tiny-tiny print) that their monies from SSI/SSDI or any other income source will not be immediately credited back to their account once they have been stolen from their NetSpend account, until the matter is investigated by NetSpend, and then Visa.

The recovery process with NetSpend is very long and you need to have other income sources to pay for faxing services (if you don't have a computer and fax machine), and a Public Notary fees along with any fees associated with mailing documents to NetSpend.

I don't believe that NetSpend has the proper safeguards in place to protect your funds, which you may have entrusted with them. So be careful… your money could disappear for a very long time before any matter is resolved with NetSpend. For persons with no other income source once your SSI/SSDI or other paycheck is deposited, and then stolen from your NetSpend account you may be facing a situation that does not include a home, food or vehicle in your future.

Please read what is happening to me before you make the same mistake as I did. NetSpend is not repaying $1,500 of my funds, which I had deposited in cash into my now canceled NetSpend account (card). This all started well over a month ago, and NetSpend has been dragging their feet with their Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) by requesting documents about two-and-half-weeks had elapsed from my initial report regarding my card number theft (not the card itself).

They requested a signed affidavit stating that I did not participate in any of the unauthorized charges; and did not authorize the use of my card number by anyone else to use for stolen purchases I had reported to them back in February. They also wanted a police report filed. NetSpend should have asked for these documents the same day that I reported the theft, not weeks later.

Now I have been told that they will turn the matter over to Visa who will conduct their own investigation, which will take anywhere from 30-90 days in order for them to respond to the theft/fraud that occurred. This means that if I ever see my money ($1,500) again, it could be well over three-months and maybe up to four-months since I first reported the theft on February 26, 2010.

On March 19 I sent the documents that NetSpend had requested, which was a notarized affidavit (cost me $10.00, plus a $2.85 for delivery with proof of receipt of delivery confirmation) and the police report. They received this on March 23, 2010, however when I spoke with them on March 24 I was told that they had not received the documents even though I had proof of delivery.

I have been told that I may still be charged a $50.00 fee if I ever get my stolen money back. I don't know what this fee is for as I reported the theft in less than 12 hours while the charges were still pending. NetSpend monies may be given back to me once Visa has resolved the case on their end, and maybe not or at least that is what I was told by NetSpend. I wasn't told how long NetSpend had to submit the documents to Visa, which I sent to them over a week ago, as they claim even though I have proof of delivery from UPS, that these documents were not received at the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC).

I am beginning to believe that even though the personnel at the NetSpend DRC are very polite and nice on the phone that their job is to ensure that matters like this do not take priority. What does take priority is recruiting new customers and making persons like me sit through prerecorded messages that encourage me to sign-up for direct deposit of all my paycheck or government checks and thus use NetSpend for all of my banking needs, and transactions.

Trust me when I say I want to vomit, and I have contemplated the possibility of placing a loaded gun in my mouth for entrusting such a large sum of money to a company like NetSpend, but at least I still consider myself fortunate enough to have a working phone in order to call NetSpend every few days to hear these nauseating prerecorded messages. These messages help remind me what an idiot I was for depositing $1,500 cash on a NetSpend card to begin with.

To date I have now incurred a total $1,522.80 in lost monies. I also had to pay $9.95 for a new card at NetSpend as I had monies being charged back to the stolen, (now canceled card) from stores that owed credit back to me. The funny thing is, is that one of the customer service persons at NetSpend actually suggested that she lift the cancellation on my stolen card number and deposit these funds owed back to me on that stolen card number, as I had expressed an extreme lack of trust in use of my old card, or any NetSpend card ever again.

I didn't really want to activate the new NetSpend card, and then have monies stolen again, since we don't know how the original $1,500 was taken from my card to begin with. So, let's see… I guess we just add more funds back to the stolen card where the card number has already been reported as stolen, and reactivate it so that the thieves can take more of money from my account. WOW. I guess customer service is not aware of any anti-theft procedures or why it continues to happen. Did these persons in customer service at NetSpend go through any anti-fraud or theft avoidance training? I can't believe that they did, especially after that conversation. Frightening!

Here is the initial report filed with NetSpend. I noticed two unauthorized charges on my credit card account with NetSpend on the morning of 2/26/10 at approximately 3:30 AM (PST), and immediately canceled my VISA card ending in the numbers **. The VISA credit/debit card ending in ** was used twice in order to make unauthorized purchases in Seattle, WA (college area) on the evening of 2/25/10.

However, NetSpend reports the charges occurred at 18:06:09:0 on 2/26/10 at BEST BUY in Seattle, WA where an unauthorized charge for $900.00 was made with my credit card number, and 18:06:14:0 at TARGET in Seattle, WA where another unauthorized charged was made for $600.00 with my credit card number.

My credit card was in my physical possession when these unauthorized charges were made. At no time have I ever lost or misplaced my VISA credit card number ending in **. I did not lend nor allow the use of my VISA credit card (**) by another person nor authorize the use of my card number for someone else to make the aforementioned unauthorized purchases in Seattle, WA nor did duplicate or authorize the duplication of my NetSpend or any credit card.

Best Buy's Consumer Relations Department was able to tell me that the $900.00 charge placed on my NetSpend card at this Best Buy store (#470), which is located at 330 NE Northgate Way, Seattle, WA 98125, was used to purchase a total of three Best Buy gift cards for the amount of $300.00 each.

I attempted to call this store all day yesterday, but the circuits were busy according to an automated message from AT&T, and I was never allowed to reach this store so that they could possibly have these fraudulently purchased Best Buy cards canceled before they were billed to my account or at least hold the security tape for the police to review. I did not authorize nor allow any other person to make this purchase or transaction at Best Buy.

I was unable to find out anything about the other unauthorized transaction at Target for $600.00, as Target Consumer Relations Department said they would not deal with anyone who had a problem with a unauthorized third-party credit card transactions used at any of their store locations, and advised me to be contact my credit card company which I had already done.

My question is, who except thieves buy large amounts of gift cards in the spring? Best Buy employees and Target employees must have failed the same anti-fraud training (if any was provided) that the NetSpend personnel did. I have been told recently that cash cards are great for retailers, as they always get paid.

I have also been apprised that persons who want to sell stolen cards, apparently on websites like eBay benefit from the use of cash cards as well. Amazing, the slimy world we live in. Is there a special spring Christmas or Christmas type holiday that occurs in spring, which I am unaware of? NetSpend thought the purchases $300.00 each for gift cards in February was appropriate, so I guess so. Who knew.

Company Response 04/13/2010:

Firstly, we want to apologize that your card number was compromised and your funds were stolen. This is a situation we do not want to see any of our card holders in, but understand that it does happen. Each claim is different so it is difficult in determining an exact time frame of when your claim will be resolved (We hope it has been resolved by this point.) You definitely did everything possible on your part to get in the necessary documentation and by blocking your card. We try to resolve our disputes as quickly as possible and apologize that you have had to wait so long. We are considered a financial institution but we are not necessarily a bank. For this reason we are not always able to issue money back right away while the investigation is done. In our terms and conditions we list the 50 liability and charge this fee because NetSpend will pay this out of its own pocket, it is not actually money that we win back. We truly hope your dispute has been resolved at this point and thank you for your patience with us.

If you have any questions feel free to call us at 1-866-387-7363.

NetSpend Corp.

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NetSpend Trap's People Money During the Holiday!

By dninc - 11/25/2009

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- I've been a long time happy as hell NetSpend user for over 3 years now, I have a short temper but I gave this company the benefit of the doubt many time… First problem was them holding charges back for almost a week and then slamming my account with all of the past purchases I made that entire week. I hadn't had time to check my account periodically all the time so I relied on my phone to text me my balance. I hadn't notice my final text I got was an old balance I had so I made a few more purchases thinking I had a good amount of money left. Then I get slammed with all of the last week's purchases made and end up in the negatives.

Now I have this problem today 'TODAY 11/25/09' the day before Thanksgiving. NetSpend is closed, there's no customer service to contact, no one to talk to in technical support, you're directed over the phone to go to Netspend.com and see what help you can get there, and the website is totally down. I mean the entire domain is like shut down as if it doesn't exist anymore. I'm currently scared all of my funds are done for and I'm going to be in for a fight to get my money from a company that can pretty much vanish without a trace at any moment.

I'm going to make some attempts at mailing them. Hopefully my funds are available before the mail get to them. I'm going to also track their bank down and contact them. I'm also reporting this to the BBB. It's as if they all took a vacation and have forgotten real people have real money on these cards. I just got paid and I'm relying on that money to gas my car up so I can get to my family, if I can't go anywhere I'm going to be FURIOUS!

Then on top of that my car needs maintenance. I will literally lose my job if I don't show up Friday due to no gas!! These people need to seriously find a way to let people know they are going to be experiencing some problems and allow us time to pull some funds out before they go down. I'm feeling hopeless at this point. They have literally crippled me financially. I'm looking around for a real bank account now. I didn't want to have to deal with the fees and all the mess so I went with this company but if this is what I got to go through HELL NAW!!

Resolution Update 11/26/2009:

The Netspend Website appears to be up and running now and everything looks in place. i'll call this resolved, however if it happens again i'll be back on here or wherever my complaints are welcomed.

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Will Not Release Funds to My Account

By jacqueline.mi.bell846 - 05/15/2015

Rating: 1/51

DALLAS, TEXAS -- I purchased a prepaid NetSpend Visa from a local Family Dollar on May 7, 2015. I tried to activate the card online and was told it could not be activated and to call Customer Service. I called CS on May 8, 2015. I was told that there was a glitch in the system and it would be resolved within 24 hours. I was told to check back the next day. I called CS the On May 11, 2015 and was told that the system showed my social security number belonged to a deceased person and that I would need to bring a copy of my social security card, drivers license and utility bill to a reload location and have them fax it in to NetSpend. I took the information to Ace Check Cashing at 8 am on and they faxed the information to NetSpend. I called CS and was told it would take 4-6 hours. When I had not received a response and was still unable to access my funds, I contacted CS again on May 12, 2015. I was told to have the documents resent by a reloading agent so I again went to ACE Check cashing and they refaxed the documents. While I was there, the ACE employee pulled up the verification system and said it did not show my SS# was flagged as deceased. I called CS to verify receipt of the documents and was told yes and it would 4-6 hours. After 6 hours I called by and was told the issue was I had mistyped my name when I tried to activate online. I was told it would be another 4-6 hours. At 8:36 pm I received an email stating that they were unable to read the faxed documents and I would need to take a photo and send them by reply email. I did this. I received a second email at 11:37 stating that they had received the documents and they had been verified but my account had to be transferred to another department. I called the morning of May 13th and was told that I had an old account and that in 2008 I made a purchase for $11.36 but my card had a balance of $10 so the account was closed due to an outstanding balance of $1.36. I offered to pay the balance over the phone but they refused payment. The supervisor said they were escalating the issue and it would take 4-6 hours and the funds would be available. They also promised to monitor the account and called when resolved. I followed up with an email to provide written documentation. At 4:45 I called CS again and was told that the issue was with the documentation department. I told them I had received an email from documentation saying that they had forwarded it to another unnamed department. The supervisor said they would escalate the issue to documentation, monitor the issue and have a manager call me back. I told again the issue was not with documents but with the department that handles charge offs. I was told that CS cannot contact that department or forward customers to the department. Again it would take about 4 hours. I again followed up by email. When I had not heard anything again, I called at 7:45pm and was told by the CSR that the issue was my social security number belonged to a deceased person. I recanted the entire story and asked to be transferred to a supervisor. After a lengthy wait I spoke with a supervisor who said he was escalating the issue to both documentation and risk. I told him that I was told CS could not contact risk. He said yes we can but they closed at 8pm so they would not be able to address the issue until the morning and it would take about 4-6 hours after they opened at 8 am for them to review and resolve the issue. I told them that this money was needed for a payment that was needed Friday morning. I have repeatedly asked that the money be transferred to my open NetSpend account. I also repeatedly offered to pay the $1.43 by phone to have the money released. I informed him that at this point I was filing a complaint with the Texas Office of the Attorney General and the FDIC.